Category: Austria

The Wittelsbachs had a history of crazy. Both Ludwig I and Ludwig II had their foibles (See posts on both of them here: http://www.historynaked.com/spanish-dancer-king/ and here: http://www.historynaked.com/ludwig-mad-king/ ) However, Ludwig II’s cousin, Elisabeth or Sisi as she was known, had a life more tragic than crazy. On the surface, Sisi had it all- beauty, wealth, […]

Crown Prince Rudolf was the heir to the Habsburg throne and the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph and his beautiful wife Elisabeth, or Sisi. He was in a notoriously bad marriage to Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, daughter of Leopold II. At first, the prince seemed to be in love but Stéphanie suffered under her […]

They say that ultimately someone can be their own worst enemy. This is definitely the case for the Austrians in this battle. It was 1788 and Austria was at war with the Ottoman Empire. At stake was control of the Danube River. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire was fighting the Russians the same […]

As we discussed in our previous post on Pocahontas (http://www.historynaked.com/pocahontas/), explorer John Smith had his life saved by the Native American princess. Some historians have cast doubt on this story as the only source we have is a letter Smith wrote to Queen Anne describing the event in 1616 when Pocahontas journeyed to England. Smith’s […]

“You better watch out, You better not cry, You better not pout, I’m telling you why: He’s making a list, And checking it twice, Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. He sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good, So be good for goodness […]